Ladle-turning mechanism



J. S. TOWNSEND.

LADLE TURNING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION mm JULY 17,1920.

1 ,357,599, Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- J. S. TOWNSEND.

LADLE TURNING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, 1920.

1,357,599, Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Lgajj Magi/Z UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. TOWNSEND, OF HARVEY, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO WHI'IING FOUNDRY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF HARVEY, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LADLE-TURNING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J OHN S. ToWNsnNn,-a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Harvey, in the county of Cook and btate of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Ladle-Turning Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for turning ladies used in foundries, furnaces, and the like, containing more or less large bodies of molten metal, where because of the danger of spilling the molten metal very positive powerful machinery is required and wherein because of the great and variable heat created by the molten metal there is great danger of irregular expansion in various parts of the machinery with consequent danger offaulty operation.

Specifically the invention is an improvement upon the structure of Whiting and TownsendUnited States Patent No.1,323,137, issued November 25, 1919.

The objects of the invention are to so improve the machine of said prior patent that it may be more easily and cheaply made and repaired, and to so construct it that the lat-.

eral twisting strain between the ladle bail and the ladle rotating mechanism tending to twist either the bail or the ladle, crosswise of the ladle shaft is divided equally between them, thus reducing the danger of trouble therefrom to a minimum. To illustrate the trouble reduced or removed, it will be seen on inspecting said Whiting and Townsend prior patent that the casecontaining the gear 16 of that patent carries an arm 18 which engages the bail 14: at 54 with the result that when the operator turns the handle there is a twisting of the case and inclosed driving mechanism in a plane at right angles to the ladle trunnion caused by a bending move ment equal to the distance between the center of the gear and the bail. This invention divides this bending which is there all on the case between the bail and case.

The invention consists in mechanism for carrying out the foregoing objects which can be easily and' comparatively cheaply made, which is satisfactory in operation, and not liable to get out of order. More particularly the invention consists in the use of a special form of gearing between the driving mechanism and the ladle shaft thereby reducing the expense in construction. It also consists 111 placing the point-of loose driving contact between the ladle bail and the driving mechanism not on the ladle bail as'in said prior patent, or on the driving mechanism as in older prior art, but at a point approximately midway between them.

The invention further consists in features Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side view taken on the line 4.--4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5-5, Fig. 3.

As in said prior patent a large metal retaining ladle 10 is-provided with outwardly extending trunnions 12 provided with a carefully formed bearing portion 14 journaled in the suitable inclosing bearings 16 inclosed within straps 18 secured to the lower ends of the bail 20 by any suitable means, as for instance the bolts 22. This ladle 10 is, as in said prior patent, forcibly rotated by mechanism appearing at the right hand side of Figs. 1 and 5 so the trunnion 12 on that side is accordingly provided with an extension portion 24 to which the hub 26 of spur gear 28 is rigidly attached by any suitable means, forming no part of this invention, and therefore not shown.

This gear 28 is of importance in economy of construction in that it is, in form, an or dinary spur gear and therefore not nearly as expensive as the worm or spiral gear employed in said prior patent.

This gear 28 and the driving mechanism for it, to be hereafter described, is inclosed within the case or housing 30 carried by hub 32 journaled on the hub 26 of the gear 28. This hub 32 bears at one end against the frame of the gear 28 and at the other end against the brace member 345 which helps to sustain the ladle 10 in journaled position on the bail 20.

.Journaled in the walls of this case 30 and with its axis at an angle to the axis of the trunnion l4-24 is a driving shaft 36 carrying a worm 38 meshing with the teeth of the spur gear 28. The angularity of the shaft 36 to the trunnion 24 corresponds to the pitch of this worm 38 in the ordinary manner,'well known in gearing art. The end of the shaft 36 which is entirely clear of gear 28 is provided with one gear 40 of a pair of helical gears whose opposite member or gear 42 is sustained and rotated by shaft 44 suitably journaled'in case 80 and driven by any suitable source of power, in the particular case here illustrated a manually operated hand wheel 46. i

The angularity of shaft 36'to the axis of the trunnions' of the ladle carries these helical gears 40--42 somewhat farther away from the ladle or to the right, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 5, than is the case where the gears of the type of said prior patent are used'and this therefore makes the outer bearing 48 of the shaft 44 nearer the hand wheel 46 than is necessary in the construction of the prior patent with the result that this shaft 44 is better supported with reference to the operation of the hand wheel which, because of the intense heat given out by the metal in the ladle the wheel 46 has to be supported at substantially a fixed great distance away from the ladle.

The lower portion of the gear 28 may and should berinclosed in a supplemental case such for instance as sheet iron case 30 without novelty herein. i 1

The .case 30 is provided with two upwardly projecting spaced apart lugs 50 and 52 between which enters an arm or anchor member 54 projecting laterally from the adjacent bail member 20 being secured there to by any suitable means as for instance the bolt 56. The parts just described are ar ranged to permit free expansion of the parts as described in said prior patent. These members, 50, 52 and 54 are so arranged and located that the point of bearing contact be tween the member 54 and the other two members 50 and 52 is in approximatelya vertical plane intermediate between the central vertical axis of the bail member 20 as viewed in Fig. 5 and a vertical plane through the center of gear 28 as viewed in Fig. 5.

The result of this construction is that when the operator takes hold of wheel 46 and turns 1t, thereby rotating gear. 42' and consequently gear .40, shaft 36, worm 38, and

gear 28 to turn the ladle on its trunnion in the adjacent hail of the ladle the tendency to twist themes 30 in a plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation and the tendency to twist the adjacent bail member 20 about 1ts vertical axis thus cause itto bind on its trunnion, is divided between the two members, thus reducing to a minimum this harmful effect. 7 7

Having thus described my invention'what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of a ladle, a trunnion extending therefrom, a suspending bail to which the trunnion is journaled, a case mechanism also'journaled on the axis of the trunnion, an expansion anchor connection between the bail and case so located that the effective bearing point of the anchor is intermediate of the central vertical planes of the bail and case, and operating mechanism for rotating the ladle carried by the case, for the purposes set forth. 7

2. In mechanism of' the class described, the combination of a ladle, a trunnion extending therefrom, a suspending bail to which the trunnion is journaled, a case 'mechanism on the side of the bail away from the ladle, also journaled on the axis of the trunnion, an expansion anchor connection between the bail and case so located that the effective bearing point ofthe anchor is intermediate of the central vertical planes of the bail and case and operating mechanism for rotating the ladle carried by the case, for the purposes set forth.

3. In mechanism of the 'class described, the combination of a ladle, a trunnion extending therefrom, a suspending bail to which the trunnion is journaled, a case mechanism also journaled on the axis of the trunnion, an expansion anchor connection between the bail and case so located that the effective bearing point of the anchor is at a point substantially in the middle between the central vertical planes of the bail and case, and operating mechanism for rotating the ladle carried by the case.

4. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of a ladle, a trunnion extending therefrom, a suspending bail to which the trunnionis iournaled, a case mechanism on the side of the bail away from the ladle also journaled on the axis of the trunnion, an expansion anchor connection between the bail and: case so located that the effective bearing point of the anchor is at a point substantially in the middle between the central vertical planes of the bail and case, and operating mechanismfor rotating the ladle carried by the case, for the purposes set forth.

5. In 'mechanism of the class described, the combination of a ladle, a trunnion extending therefrom, a suspending bail to which the trunnion is journaled, a spur gear rigid on thetrunnion outside the bail, a case ournaled on the trunnlon mclosingthe gear, a shaft ournaled 1n the case'at an acute angle to the plane of the spurgearcarrying a worm meshing with the spur gear, another scribed my name in the presence of two witsha-ft pa'allelhto the zilxis 0113 the trgmnion, nesses. journale in t e case, elica ears etween the last two mentioned shafts 5nd operating JOHN TOWNSEND 5 means for the last shaft at a fixed distance Witnesses:

outside the case, for the purposes set forth. DWIGHT B. Cmanvnn,

In witness whereof I have hereunto sub- ETTA L. WHITE. 

